Preparing Your Vacation Rental for Your First Guests

Preparing your vacation rental for your first guests can be a bit overwhelming. After all, you need to make sure that your vacation home or condo offers an ideal retreat for guests. Reviews will play a large part in how many, or how few, bookings you get. Taking the time to get everything in order before guests arrive will make it easier to give them a great experience. As such, we’ve put together a quick guide to help you ensure that your vacation property is in tip-top shape for your first guests. Not only will they appreciate it, but it will make the process easier for you as well.

Take Care of Cleaning & Repairs

No one wants to walk into a dirty home or condo on the first day of their vacation. It’s very important that your property is in pristine condition when guests arrive. This may mean that you’ll need to take some extra time cleaning yourself or hire housekeepers to tackle the project.

Take a hard look at your property before your first rental. Are there any issues that might be problematic, like loose carpeting or exposed wires? If so, make sure all repairs can be completed before your guests arrive. These efforts will help to protect both you and your guests.

Stock All the Necessary Amenities

Guests love vacation rentals that go above and beyond when it comes to amenities. Some items are a given for your property, like having plenty of high-quality linens, bedding, and towels as well as a good variety of dishes, flatware, and cookware in the kitchen. A few extra touches here and there will go a long way in terms of guest satisfaction. Equip your kitchen with small appliances like a microwave, coffee maker, and toaster.

Tools like can openers, corkscrews, spatulas, ladles, are good additions, as well. You should also make sure your kitchen has plenty of trash bags, dish soap, dishwasher detergent (if necessary), paper towels, and dish towels.

You may want to consider keeping basic herbs and spices, coffee filters, foil or plastic wrap, and tea or hot chocolate (great for winter destinations) in the pantry.

Consider what types of entertainment your guests might like. Basic cable is a must and wireless internet is very important to most guests anymore. Movie or music streaming services are always nice options to have. As not all of your guests will get to enjoy perfect weather conditions on their trip, you may want to keep your vacation rental stocked with a variety of DVDs, books, board games, and of course, a deck of cards.

Put Together an Inventory

Once you’ve got your vacation home or condo stocked with everything your guests might like, it’s time to make a list of everything that’s in your property. Keeping good records of your property’s content will make it that much easier to proceed should something go missing. The inventory can also help you stay on top of any necessary restocking. Items like glasses and dishes will break over time. When you know how many you have, you can rest assured that you’ll never have guests check in to find just one plate and one glass in the cabinets.

If you have any valuables in your home, it’s best to store them in a different location. If that’s not possible, you should create an owner’s closet.

Establish House Rules

What do your guests need to know about your property? A set of house rules will help to ensure that they enjoy a hassle-free stay. Your house rules might address topics like security systems, trash days, parking regulations, noise ordinances, or occupancy limits. With them in place, you can rest easy that your guests will be using your property in accordance with your wishes.

We’re Here to Help

If you’re unsure how to best proceed with renting your property out for the first time, feel free to give us a call at (970) 528-9700. We’ve worked with lots of vacation homeowners who are new to the vacation rental industry. To make the rental process even smoother, you may even want to consider taking advantage of our property management services. We look forward to speaking with you!